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The Yorkton Fire Department suspects arson in an apartment fire that caused widespread evacuations yesterday.
The department responded to two fires at the same building and reported that the first, which occurred late Monday Night, didn't appear suspicious, but the second, which was found in a different area early Tuesday morning, appeared to be set by hand. There was also an explosion that caused minor injuries to two firefighters.
Fire Cheif Trevor Morrissey says one of the walls coming down ruptured a natural gas line, which caused the evacuations in the area, but residents have since been able to return home. The building where the fires occurred, however, is a complete loss.
In the most recent update, Morrissey says crews are still working to secure the site, and investigators should be able to access it within the next day or two.
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- Contributed by Sam Brownell
As we learned late last month, due to a severe staffing shortage, the Grandview Hospital will not be able to have in-patients for the month of December.
The hospital does have some services available, however. The Emergency Room will be open 8 am to 8 pm Monday to Friday. Lab services are also available from 8 am to 4:30 pm for emergency and clinic patients, and from 4:30 pm to 8 pm, but for emergency patients only.
The ambulance is also available as needed, and the Grandview Medical Clinic is open 9 am to 5 pm Monday to Friday and from 8 am to 4 pm on Saturday and Sunday.
The update was sent out by Grandview Healthcare Solutions.
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- Contributed by Alec Woolston
Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) has been given a private land donation of 2,681 hectares in the RM of Woodlands.
The Lake Ranch Project will conserve endangered tallgrass prairie, wetland, forest, and lakeshore. NCC Director of Conservation for Manitoba Cary Hamel, says they're been given an incredible opportunity with this land.
"Grasslands are actually the most endangered habitat type on land in the world. They're the least protected, and they're the most prone to being converted to other uses like cities and things like that. So this project happens to have thousands of acres of tallgrass prairie on it, and that alone makes it one of the most significant land conservation projects we've done."
The land has historically been used as a Stock Cattle Farm, and the owners wanted that history to continue says Hamel.
"In conservation, livestock needs grassland and places to water, and that's what this land was used for. So the landowners wanted to work with us as an organization that would sustain that use, not just to keep nature around, but also to keep the economic use of the land for livestock farming and all the families that depend on that."
On top of the land itself, Lake Ranch is contained within the Shoal Lakes Important Bird Area; an important site for migratory birds in the prairie provinces. NCC staff recently documented approximately 170 Western Grebes, a species of special concern, as well as approximately 30 various shorebird species.
Aside from Lake Ranch, NCC has a project they're working on right here in the Parkland says, Hamel.
"It's in an area we call the Makinak Woods at Nature Conservancy of Canada, and that's that area off of the Northeast of the escarpment between Dauphin Lake and Riding Mountain National Park. A really special area, a unique forest, lots of wetlands, and conservation work there helps ensure the water quality of the lake, and flooding is slowed down. So we're working on a project, we call it Makinak Woods 2, and we're working to raise $100,00 dollars to help us ensure that we can conserve that for the future."
You can find out more about Makinak Woods 2 on the NCC website here.
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- Contributed by Sam Brownell
UPDATE: The extreme cold warning has ended.
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Extreme cold is on the way for all of Southern Manitoba tonight, including the Parkland. Environment Canada has issued extreme cold warnings across the southern half of the province.
Temperatures in the Dauphin area will be dropping down to -37 tonight, with windchills dipping to -52 overnight. Conditions are expected to improve tomorrow afternoon as relatively warmer air begins to move into the southern prairies.
Watch for cold-related symptoms like shortness of breath, chest pain, muscle pain and weakness, numbness, and colour change in fingers and toes. Cover up. Frostbite can develop within minutes on exposed skin, especially with wind chill.
Remember, if it's too cold for you to stay outside, it's also too cold for your pet, so make sure you aren't leaving them out in the cold.
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- Contributed by Sam Brownell
Shortly after midnight on Sunday, December 4th, Neepawa RCMP responded to a fatal collision at the junction of Highway 16 and Highway 10 near Minnedosa.
An initial investigation determined that a vehicle being driven by a 19-year-old man from the RM of North Cypress-Langford, crossed the centre line and collided with a semi-truck driving the opposite direction.
The driver of the vehicle was pronounced deceased at the scene. It was also determined that he was not wearing a seatbelt. The driver of the semi-truck, a 39-year-old man from Winnipeg, was treated on scene for minor injuries.
The investigation is ongoing.
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- Contributed by Alec Woolston
The Northwest Metis Council has teamed up with Under One Roof to create the Waskaa'igan Neegan Safe & Warm Space, a place where people 18 and older experiencing homelessness can get out of the cold at night.
The Space is located at Under One Roof, 37 Third Ave. NW in Dauphin, and will be open every night from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. from now until March 31, 2023. Northwest Metis Council Vice President Frances Chartrand says they received funding from the Brandon Renewal Corporation to help open the space.
"So we have people that are homeless and are walking around the streets of Dauphin, and people that are being left there that come in from the outlying communities to do shopping and they don't make it home and they have nowhere to go. Winter months are like minus 20, minus 30, and we're looking for a warm space for them to be able to go."
Chartrand says there will be full-time security on site, and they're also hired outreach workers that will be there to assist anyone that needs it.
"We understand that a lot of people come in, and a lot of people are couch surfing and there are some people that have mental health issues. COVID-19 was hard on everyone, not only in the Parkland area but all around there world, so we're trying to find and make sure that we can have wrap-around services to assist them with housing, with mental health workers, with education, with employment, and just to reunite them with their families to be self-sufficient."
The program is an extension of the Housing First Program that is run by the Northwest Metis Council, and Chartrand is working with the federal and provincial governments to try and get funding for the space, so it can continue in the future.
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- Contributed by Sam Brownell
A Manitoba-based staffing agency is helping Ukrainians find permanent work in Manitoba.
Myrowich Staffing agency was started in September by Mark Myrowich, who had been hiring staff for his manufacturing company when he realized there were so many Ukrainians looking to come to Canada and work, with no way to get connected to employers.
"I'm a manufacturer in rural Manitoba, I started hiring Ukrainians, and then they just kept coming, and they kept wanting to work for me, and it got to the point where I thought, you know, I'll start giving some resumes to some friends."
Myrowich says there wasn't the same connection that he had with them, and when one of his employees offered to start selling some items online for him, he suggested the staffing agency instead.
"He thought that was a great idea, and with all the Ukrainians coming to Canada and Manitoba there was a disconnect, so we kept going, so I've been hiring Ukrainians since May, but getting into the staffing agency at the end of September."
Since its inception, Myrowich has connected around 50 Ukrainians with jobs, and that doesn't include 40 more that Myrowich has working for him.
Myrowich says that he realized there was a talent shortage in Canada, and so many people looking to move to Canada from Ukraine. He started connecting other businesses with Ukrainians looking for work, and the agency was born.
"So, we created a website where Ukrainians could upload their resumes, and I'd say about 70 percent are in Manitoba, and 30 percent are coming to Manitoba. They've heard about us, and they want to get jobs before they come to Manitoba, and a lot of them are sitting in Europe waiting to have jobs before they get here, it's difficult for them to find the right connection. That's the sweet spot where our staffing agency comes in."
Myrowich staffing has two websites set up, hireukrainian.ca is for businesses in Canada looking to be connected with the right employee. The other website is myrowich.com which provides a place for Ukrainians looking to come to Canada to connect with the agency and upload their resume.
The Myrowich Staffing Agency staff also helps people that apply with their resume and categorize potential employees into the kind of work they're qualified for, so it's easy for employers to connect with them.
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- Contributed by Sam Brownell
A 43-year-old man is facing numerous charges after approximately $100,000 worth of cocaine was seized.
On December 2, a search warrant was executed by the Swan River RCMP in the RM of Mountain.
Officers seized approximately one kilogram of cocaine, a number of prescription pills, over $10,000 in Canadian currency, four firearms, ammunition, and drug paraphernalia.
The estimated street value of the cocaine is approximately $100,000. The man was released on conditions and he will appear in a courtroom at a later date.
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- Contributed by Darnell Duff
From November 21 to 25, the RCMP's Strategic Enforcement Response Team (SERT) executed 13 arrest warrants and four of the top five most prolific offenders, identified by criminal analysts, were charged.
The warrants were executed on Sandy Bay First Nation, Dakota Tipi First Nation, and the City of Portage la Prairie.
In total, 36 new charges were laid, which consisted of various firearms offences, Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking, Breaching Release Order, Possession of Stolen Property, and weapons possession offences.
Items seized included 13 firearms; 22 other weapons, including machetes, knives, brass knuckles, and batons; more than two ounces of methamphetamine, an ATV, a dirt bike, a vehicle, and a MIG welder.
“SERT is all about intelligence-led, data-driven policing,” said Superintendent Rob Lasson, Officer in Charge of RCMP Major Crime Services. “When SERT is deployed, it means we have identified an issue, determined what or who is driving the issue, and are taking concrete steps to stop the issue. We are very happy to team up with our policing partners to execute this operation to address crime in rural Manitoba.”
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- Contributed by Darnell Duff
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- Contributed by Sam Brownell
Food inflation isn't going away anytime soon. The latest edition of Canada's Food Price Report predicts food prices will continue to rise in the new year, with expectations that it could be by as much as 7%.
For the average family of four, that means groceries will cost nearly $16,300, almost $1,100 more than last year. Dalhousie University professor and lead author Sylvain Charlebois says food inflation will remain stubbornly high in the first half of the year before it begins to ease.
“Our relationship with food is changing, and so will our food budgets. Showing up at the grocery store knowing what you should be paying will help.”
Food price increases in Alberta, British Columbia, Newfoundland and Labrador, Ontario, and Saskatchewan will likely be higher than the national average in 2022, while price increases in the remaining provinces will be lower.
Within the grocery store, vegetables are expected to see the biggest price hike. The U-S has been struggling with dry conditions and bacterial contaminations, and a weaker Canadian dollar could make importing goods more expensive.
The full report can be found here.
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- Contributed by Sam Brownell
